Largest order yet for fully electric Volvo buses received from Norwegian city
NORWAY Volvo Buses has secured its largest ever order of fully electric buses. Tide Buss has placed an order for 25 Volvo 7900 Electrics for the city of Trondheim in Norway.
Public transportation administration company, AtB in Trondheim has led the way in the introduction of alternative propulsion technologies. In 2010 it was amongst the first in Europe to order hybrid buses from Volvo. The new fully electric vehicles will run on four routes in Trondheim, covering distances of between 12 and 15km each with operation due to start in August 2019. With the acquisition by operator Tide Buss of a total of 35 electric buses, including the 25 Volvos, Trondheim will have the largest electric bus fleet in Norway.
“This is a milestone for our long-term commitment to the electromobility transformation of public transport,” said Håkan Agnevall, President of Volvo Buses. “We are delighted to establish the first large-scale system of fully electric buses in Norway in cooperation with Tide Buss, a pioneer in sustainable city transportation. Electrically powered bus operations is the most energy-efficient solution and contribute to a far better environment for everyone who lives, travels or spends time in the city. This is a trend that we naturally want to boost.”
“We are really pleased to continue expanding our operations in Trondheim, where we have been working with AtB since 2010,” said Jan-Helge Sandvåg, Technical Director at Tide Buss. “We are firmly committed to electrification of public transport and this initiative has major implications for us, serving as a showcase, not only in Norway but throughout Europe. What’s important to us when choosing a supplier is not just Volvo’s world-leading products and competitive terms, but also the confidence we have in the Volvo organisation as a stable systems partner, that offers high security in our everyday operations.”
The fully electric buses are being sold as a complete ‘turnkey’ package whereby Volvo takes care of all vehicle and battery maintenance at a fixed monthly cost.
The buses will be fast-charged using opportunity charging at the end stops. The charging stations will be based on an open interface known as OppCharge, which means they can be used by other electrified bus makes too.
The buses will run on renewable energy so they will be entirely emission-free. Energy consumption for Volvo’s electric buses is about 80% lower than for corresponding diesel buses.
